Clancy family call for greater support for nursing homes as father contracts Covid-19

A family whose father is in a HSE-run nursing home in Dublin and has contracted Covid-19, say they have found it difficult to get information.

Rhona Clancy said she last saw her father, Joseph (84), on March 7th and now fears she might never see him again.

Her family are forming the impression their father’s nursing home is feeling the pressure. On occasion when they have called the home, the phone has rung out, she said.

However, on Monday the family was contacted and an arrangement put in place for regular updates on their father’s condition.

‘Devastating news’

“On Thursday we were given the devastating news that dad had caught Covid-19. By Saturday, five patients had it.”

Ms Clancy said her father, who has been in the home for three years, has received fantastic care there. However they feel the home is finding it difficult to cope with the challenges created by the virus.

On Monday, a member of the family spoke on the phone with a nurse who reassured them they would be given regular updates as to their father’s condition, that the home was not short-staffed, and that it had a lot of new staff, Ms Clancy said.

Ms Clancy said the family decided to speak to the media about their father in the hope that the nursing homes might get more support. “The nursing homes here are already in trouble,” she said.